PLAID Cymru has shelved its campaign to impeach Tony Blair after failing to win support among Labour rebels.

Instead, the party yesterday unveiled watered-down proposals to haul ministers involved in taking the country to war before a special select committee of MPs.

Plaid launched a bid in 2004 to throw Tony Blair out of office for "High Crimes and Misdemeanours".

But the impeachment motion failed to win the backing of any Labour backbenchers and eventually ran out of time before it could be debated by MPs.

Now Plaid MPs have worked with Labour rebels to draft a motion more likely to win cross-party support.

It calls for the formation of a special committee to examine the "conduct of ministers" in the lead--up to the conflict.

The motion calls for seven MPs - who are also privy counsellors - to form a committee with the power to see secret documents and call politicians and officials to give evidence.

The motion states the committee would "review the conduct of ministers and the way in which the responsibilities of Government were discharged in relation to Iraq and all matters relevant thereto, in the period leading up to military action in that country in March 2003 and in its immediate aftermath".

Meirionnydd Nant Conwy Elfyn Llwyd said the motion would be tabled in the next few weeks and he hopes it will be debated by MPs early next year. The impeachment bid could be resurrected if the committee hears damning evidence against the prime minister.